Restaurant chains eating up unused commercial big-box space

National restaurant chains including Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants, Buffalo Wild Wings and Chipotle Mexican Grill are taking advantage of the closing of big-box retailers such as Circuit City and Blockbuster Inc. to find new commercial real estate space.

The Wall Street Journal reports Darden, which has just one restaurant — a Red Lobster in Waikiki — in Hawaii, has been opening Olive Garden restaurants in closed supermarket spaces, while Buffalo Wild Wings, which also has just one Hawaii location, has been taking over space in Sears stores and building in the parking lots of big-box stores with excess parking.